Greg Hoover, one of North America’s most knowledgeable fly fishing entomologists, will show anglers what to expect and how to tie for the coming hatch of Brood X cicadas — a once-in-17-year culinary event for trout, bass, panfish and any aquatic predator that consumes insects that fall from trees.
The bugs are expected to emerge throughout most of Pennsylvania this month.
Hoover will present a Zoom workshop starting at 6:45 p.m. May 10, presented by Penn’s Woods West Trout Unlimited. Check pwwtu.org for more information.
A recipient of the George Harvey Award for unselfishly promoting the sport of fly fishing, Hoover taught entomology for 28 years at Penn State University and for 21 years was the faculty adviser to the Penn State Fly Fishing Club.
Brood X is the largest emergence of the eight cicada broods known to reside in a range that roughly follows the Appalachians from Wyoming and Lackawanna counties south to York County and southwest to Somerset County and all counties in between. The range extends into Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.
“Billions of these soft-bodied insects are tasty bundles of protein for insect-eating forest dwellers, especially birds and mammals,” according to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
“As many as several hundred cicadas per square meter are gulped by the millions by black bears, turkeys, squirrels, raccoons, possums, skunks, crows, and blue jays — and that’s just on the land. They also make a tasty meal for hungry trout, bass, and muskies awaiting in forested lakes and streams as well.”
First Published: April 30, 2021, 11:03 p.m.
